Thunderbird Club

[Chucky Stiletti]

About 12 hours(b4 they changed the hours of service law). One of my best trips was Miami to Jacksonville, non-stop, 5 1/2 hours, 360 +/- miles. In this:View attachment 3262557 My truck, company wagon. <ADDENDUM>I had AM/FM/Cassette, CB, 'Bird dog' and Scanner tuned to FHP and all the Counties I ran through.

you must have been cooking....heck, used to take us about 4 to go from Ft.Laud to Orlando....
Turnpike? 27?

 

[GonePlaid]

you must have been cooking....heck, used to take us about 4 to go from Ft.Laud to Orlando....
Turnpike? 27?

Turnpike Miami to Ft. Pierce, 95 after that. It was at night(mostly), minimal traffic, no delays.

 

[Gaolee]

Sneak up on them after dark, maybe they'll speak to you. BTW, no sarcasm intended. I think it's cool to 'hear' colors.

I never even knew it was unusual or even thought about it much before trying to describe sounds here. For 50 years, I thought it was just an ordinary thing that normal people experienced. Now I understand some of the odd looks I got when saying things like "that sound has a lot of white in it," and "that sound has a lime green edge."

 

[Gaolee]

I know a joke about New Zealander shepherds, but it would probably get me banned.

Something about chopping down trees and wearing high heels?

 

[Gaolee]

Was this link posted here? I’m wondering if this is where I saw it. It’s a guy playing dubstep with a bass. He has something on his thumb giving him another dimension of manipulation. Whats the gadget?

Dub step...guilty pleasure. In some weird way....It’s somehow more brutal than death metal

That's not something I ever would have thought of doing with an electric bass guitar, but I sure like it.

 

[Gaolee]

Definitely. Worse in a big truck because you’re speed is steady and slower. Can’t be stopping all the time to stand in the cold in a T-shirt in the middle of nowhere or while you pump gas or splash water in your face. I remember having to constantly shake my head readjust my focus at times.

Without company it’s much harder too. After awhile music actually makes you sleepy.

What’s the longest you drove straight?

I rode a sportbike for a long time, and did something close to 700 miles in one day. It was less than 24 hours, though.

The longest I have ever been mostly awake is 72 straight, with a couple 10 minute or so naps on three drafting stools lined up. It was precarious, but one stool under my head and shoulders, one stool under my butt, and one stool under my feet worked reasonably well. The naps came during the third straight night up. I had a project due and powered through. It's what architecture students do sometimes. Production drafting and making presentation drawings just takes time, and deadlines don't move. I didn't make any models for that one, so no X-acto knives were involved. That might have got messy. There was only the endless flow of coffee involved.

When it was done, I wanted to go out and raise hell and drink beer. The guys I was sharing a house with at the time had better ideas and dragged me home and made me go up and be quiet. I woke up something like 18 hours later.

I found out later that I was into legal insanity territory after being awake that long. There's no way I was fit to drive or do anything else except go to sleep. It won't happen again!

 

[JIO]

I rode a sportbike for a long time, and did something close to 700 miles in one day. It was less than 24 hours, though.

The longest I have ever been mostly awake is 72 straight, with a couple 10 minute or so naps on three drafting stools lined up. It was precarious, but one stool under my head and shoulders, one stool under my butt, and one stool under my feet worked reasonably well. The naps came during the third straight night up. I had a project due and powered through. It's what architecture students do sometimes. Production drafting and making presentation drawings just takes time, and deadlines don't move. I didn't make any models for that one, so no X-acto knives were involved. That might have got messy. There was only the endless flow of coffee involved.

When it was done, I wanted to go out and raise hell and drink beer. The guys I was sharing a house with at the time had better ideas and dragged me home and made me go up and be quiet. I woke up something like 18 hours later.

I found out later that I was into legal insanity territory after being awake that long. There's no way I was fit to drive or do anything else except go to sleep. It won't happen again!

a Honda VFR? I can't imagine riding most sport bikes (ala Ducate) for more than a couple hrs...

 

[Gaolee]

a Honda VFR? I can't imagine riding most sport bikes (ala Ducate) for more than a couple hrs...

Triumph TT600. It has some of the the highest pegs of any stock bike ever made. I was thinking about doing an iron butt run on my current sportbike, a Daytona 675. I don't generally do what normal people do.

 

[JIO]

Triumph TT600. It has some of the the highest pegs of any stock bike ever made. I was thinking about doing an iron butt run on my current sportbike, a Daytona 675. I don't generally do what normal people do.

I never ride with others and I always wave Ricky Racer's around me. Sportbike dudes get stupid with a motor between there legs. (I ride a '05 VFR 800)

 

[GBassNorth]

I use WD40




How about BirdLand ?

...or ThunderLand.

 

[Gaolee]

I never ride with others and I always wave Ricky Racer's around me. Sportbike dudes get stupid with a motor between there legs. (I ride a '05 VFR 800)

I can go fast or slow. It depends on the situation. Riding on the track slowed me way down on the street, but I still prefer the full on sportbike. It is like an amp with a volume knob. The throttle doesn't have to be wide open all the time.

The nice thing about an iron butt ride is that you do it on your own. A thousand miles in 24 hours requires documentation, but nobody else. I'm with you on riding alone. If I want to go fast, I go fast. If I want to go slow, I go slow. I don't like trying to coordinate with anybody else, and I sure won't worry about what the other guy(s) might do or try to keep up if they are going faster than I want to go.

 

[JIO]

I can go fast or slow. It depends on the situation. Riding on the track slowed me way down on the street, but I still prefer the full on sportbike. It is like an amp with a volume knob. The throttle doesn't have to be wide open all the time.

The nice thing about an iron butt ride is that you do it on your own. A thousand miles in 24 hours requires documentation, but nobody else. I'm with you on riding alone. If I want to go fast, I go fast. If I want to go slow, I go slow. I don't like trying to coordinate with anybody else, and I sure won't worry about what the other guy(s) might do or try to keep up if they are going faster than I want to go.

Track-days are the best -

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

Finally got around to buying some bullets for my strap.

 

[Nunovsky]

I'll soon be joining this Club.
Just pulled the trigger on a Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro TS.
Should be here by the end of next week...

 

[GBassNorth]

Track-days are the best -

+1
Unfortunately I just sold my Porsche Cayman that was set up for track racing, needed a new SUV of all things.

Good news is, the new SUV is a Cayenne GTS, so it's plenty sporty. I did track one at the LA Porsche Experience Center along with a Turbo Cayenne and decided the GTS was the better machine for my driving style. It's not a sports car but it's amazing what it can do and what it can keep up with.

Better news is, now I have room in the garage for a bike if I want one. Still smitten by both the VRod Muscle and the MotoGuzzi California. The Guzzi would look cool with a custom saddle bag made to hold a TBird!

 

[GBassNorth]

Finally got around to buying some bullets for my strap.

View attachment 3262986

Nice! .223 FMJ Boat Tails by chance?
Looks like you're ready to play this song...

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

Nice! .223 FMJ Boat Tails by chance?

.300 Win Mag

Looks like you're ready to play this song...

Seems fitting

 

[GBassNorth]

.300 Win Mag

Much better! One of the best rounds out there.

 

[Gaolee]

Track-days are the best -

It's been about eight years since I was on the track. Track days led to racing, which was like track days on steroids. I miss it up to a point, but just don't make the time or feel like spending the money any more. Plus, if you want insanity, go racing with 25 or 30 testosterone poisoned lunatics on 600 and 750 cc racing bikes. It sure is fun, but at some point, the crazy got to be too much. I don't have any titanium parts, which is unusual for people who spent time racing. I'll be 60 in just over a year, which is a little mind boggling, but is also a good reason to avoid breaking too many more body parts.

That said, I might do a track day or two one of these years, because it sure is fun.

 

[JIO]

It's been about eight years since I was on the track. Track days led to racing, which was like track days on steroids. I miss it up to a point, but just don't make the time or feel like spending the money any more. Plus, if you want insanity, go racing with 25 or 30 testosterone poisoned lunatics on 600 and 750 cc racing bikes. It sure is fun, but at some point, the crazy got to be too much. I don't have any titanium parts, which is unusual for people who spent time racing. I'll be 60 in just over a year, which is a little mind boggling, but is also a good reason to avoid breaking too many more body parts.

That said, I might do a track day or two one of these years, because it sure is fun.

Raced road bicycles for 25 years - that was enough of a competitive fix for me.